Comic book fans have the chance to meet some of their idols at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle this weekend.

The latest Newcastle Film and Comic Con takes place at the venue on Saturday and Sunday and among the guest speakers will be The Walking Dead actor Ross Marquand – who is just as excited about the weekend as the fans.

“These conventions offer a great opportunity for the fans and also for the actors too to interact with each other,” says Ross, who plays Aaron in the hit horror drama television series, based on the comic book series of the same name.

“So often you are interacting via Twitter or Facebook and you don’t get that face to face interaction that I think is so important, and it means a lot to both the actors and the fans.

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2015 Newcastle Film and Comic Con

“I just love going to these things as I definitely know what it is like to have a deep appreciation of and passion for a show you grew up watching.

“A lot of the people that I grew up watching, such as Vernon Wells and Wililam Shatner, all these guys whom I’ve seen since I was a kid, you get to meet them at these conventions and it’s just the most amazing sensation. You really get to meet your idols.”

In fact, Vernon Wells is at this weekend’s convention too! But what is the format? “I will be stationed at a table and fans can come to talk to me there or they can go to Q and As where they learn a lot more about the show,” explains Ross.

“Sometimes the fans will submit their own questions on the spot and we will answer them the best we can without giving away too many spoilers. I like my job so I have to keep my mouth shut at some of the questions,” he laughs.

In The Walking Dead, Aaron acts as a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone located in Washington, DC for Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors on the road.

Although initially mistrusted by Rick’s group, he gradually gained their respect and trust and became a resourceful ally to the group.

Aaron is the longest surviving Alexandria character and is notable for being the comic book’s first openly gay character.

“Most people were hesitant to trust Aaron. I don’t think because of his sexual orientation but because every single nice guy they had encountered before Aaron had tried to kill them and lure them into a trap they couldn’t get out of,” says Ross.

“When Aaron appears in the forest, clean-cut with his arms up in the air and seemingly harmless, that’s when the antennae went up and they were on full alert. As time has gone on people have really come to accept Aaron as one of their own, as part of the group.

“I think the great thing about this series is it manages to introduce characters from all walks of life and show what I think a realistic representation of the apocalypse would look like. People wouldn’t care about certain things in the apocalypse. They would care about survival and love and that’s about it.”

Newcastle Film & Comic Con takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Metro Radio Arena and promises to bring you some of your favourite stars from TV, Film and Comics as well as a whole host of fun activities including photo shoots, panels, autograph sessions and hundreds of stalls full of TV and Film memorabilia to browse.